Walk Through Fire for You
by emerald1198
Summary: She watched the flames lick at their creation, recognized the longing to prove his love for her blazing in his eyes.  And that's when Imogen Moreno realized it would always be about Clare Edwards.  One-shot


**Hey guys. This is something a little different for me, because I've never really taken a liking to Imogen Moreno, not on the show or in most fanfics. But I've been reading a fic called Blind Faith by ThirteenWishes (Check it out if you haven't. It is an amazing story.) and, though it's an Eclare centric story, it also shows another side of Imogen Moreno, giving her a depth that I never really considered for her before reading that.**

**The Imogen in this story is different from the one in that story, but I just wanted to let you guys know where my inspiration for getting inside Imogen's mind came from.**

**Enjoy **

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**Walk Through Fire for You**

**One-shot**

_Just stick to the script. _The words were impossible to hear, but Imogen could read Fiona's glossy pink lips, hissing the words at Eli. He was shaking, and Imogen wasn't even sure if he had heard the other actress or not.

"Please, Eli," she murmured under her breath.

She felt light-headed, completely overwhelmed with everything she had caused. She had never truly meant for this to happen; she had tried to convince Eli to commence taking his pill dosages again. But he hadn't listened to her. Then again, she wasn't sure if he _should_ listen to her anymore.

She hadn't known anything about anxiety pills. Though she had talked of them like she had experience, the truth was she had no knowledge of this kind of medication whatsoever. But Eli Goldsworthy made her say and do things that she couldn't explain later.

_That's what could be dulling you out. They can make it hard to concentrate sometimes. _

But she didn't know that at all. When she was around Eli, all she could think about was getting him to notice her, to trust her, to simply acknowledge the fact that she existed, and now she was constantly finding herself saying things she didn't even mean.

She lied all the time, and she couldn't stop herself from doing it anymore. She remembered Eli's pitch to Miss Dawes. _It's about having the courage to write happy ending, to have the two people who are supposed to be together walk off into the sunset._

_ A writer's catharsis?_

_ Exactly._

And Fiona hadn't understood at all, nor had Imogen really. _Who even knows what he's talking about? _ She had hissed.

And just like that, Imogen had once again found herself lying. Her heart blew into overdrive every time she recognized an opportunity to support, advise, impress, or, in this case, defend Eli.

_**I**__ do. _She had countered, instantly feeling the rush of being on Eli's side again. And there was more satisfaction when she realized how much he fed off of her support.

She wanted so badly to show him that he didn't need Clare by his side to be strong. She wanted to show him that she could be the one that was there for him when he needed someone. But somewhere along the way, she had lost that initial goal. Now, all she was doing was clinging to every chance she could get to make Eli want her, notice her, really _see _her.

But now, she had led him in the wrong direction, far away from what she had been trying to do originally. Imogen Moreno closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the solitary tear on the rim of her eyelid finally pool over, streaming down her cheek her slowly before settling on her lips. She parted them slightly, tasting the salt water.

To everyone around her, all the kids that spread mean rumors, the ones that snickered at her in the hallway, Imogen was a mastermind whose scheme to manipulate those around her was becoming more and more evident.

Maybe that's who she was, she realized, as she opened her eyes to take in the damage that she caused. She had broken an already-broken boy. She had pushed him closer and closer to the edge, and the worst part of it all was that, she had been perfectly fine with that, as long as she could be the one to catch him when he finally went over.

She had never really meant to lead him this far away, but now everything was crumbling and she didn't feel in control anymore. She had the power to really, truly help Eli Goldsworthy, yet whenever she was around with him, she panicked with the need to show him that unlike everyone else, she would support his decisions, despite how dangerous they were.

Now, she wasn't so sure of herself.

_Just read the script. _Fiona's lips formed the words once more, but this time Eli was livid, his eyes wild.

"_What _script? There's no script! You can't write your life!" He bellowed, shooting up from his seat.

No, that's what she had tried to do for him. And for herself, as well. But now neither could find their path. She didn't know why she had tried so hard to build her life around Eli Goldsworthy, why she had twisted every which way for him.

There were gasps from the audience as Eli clicked on the lighter, setting flame to the script he had obsessed over for weeks. It had been Imogen who had helped him write it, Imogen who had inspired him, Imogen who had saved him from failure and humiliation.

It made sense to her that that script had been _their _creation. Yet, even as she watched the flames lick at the paper, the edges turn crisp and black, it was Clare Edwards that Eli's eyes locked with, in the crowd.

She saw the desperation in his eyes, the longing to prove his love for Clare. And she couldn't help but think that he was destroying what _they_ had made together, simply to show Clare his love for _her._

Another tear rolled down Imogen Moreno's cheek as she realized that, no matter how much she tried to curve her own path for Eli Goldsworthy, it would always be about the girl that would never love him back.

It would always be about Clare Edwards.


End file.
